The answer is to assign the access review to business process owners from each department. This is correct because segregation of duties (SoD) conflicts, such as a user holding both ‘create purchase order’ and ‘approve purchase order’ roles, require deep functional knowledge of job responsibilities—knowledge the IT manager lacks. The core technical concept is that effective access review for SoD must be performed by those who understand the business processes and can identify incompatible role combinations, not just verify employment status. On the CISA exam, this tests your grasp of governance over user access reviews and the principle that business process owners, not IT, are accountable for SoD validation. A common trap is assuming the IT manager’s technical access suffices; instead, remember that SoD is a business control, not a technical one. Memory tip: “SoD is the business’s job—IT just turns the knobs.”
CISA Information System Auditing Process Practice Question
This CISA practice question tests your understanding of information system auditing process. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An organization uses a cloud-based ERP system to manage financial transactions. The system is accessed by employees in finance, procurement, and sales departments. The IS auditor is reviewing the user access review process. The access review is performed quarterly by the IT manager using a report generated by the ERP system. The report lists all users and their roles. The IT manager manually checks off users who are still employed and approves the report. The auditor notes that the IT manager does not have detailed knowledge of job functions in each department. Additionally, the ERP system allows role combinations that may create segregation of duties conflicts, such as a user having both 'create purchase order' and 'approve purchase order' roles. The company's policy requires segregation of duties reviews to be performed by business process owners. Which of the following is the BEST recommendation?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "best"
Why it matters: Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Assign the access review to business process owners from each department
The core issue is that the IT manager lacks the business process knowledge to assess whether role combinations create segregation of duties (SoD) conflicts. Company policy explicitly requires SoD reviews to be performed by business process owners. Assigning the access review to business process owners from each department (Option C) directly aligns with policy and ensures that those with functional knowledge evaluate whether role assignments violate SoD rules, such as a user having both 'create purchase order' and 'approve purchase order' roles.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✗
Increase the frequency of access reviews to monthly
Why it's wrong here
Frequency is not the issue; the lack of business knowledge is.
✗
Implement an automated tool to identify segregation of duties conflicts
Why it's wrong here
Helpful but does not replace the need for business owner review.
✓
Assign the access review to business process owners from each department
Why this is correct
Business owners understand the necessary segregation of duties.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "best" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Require the IT manager to obtain confirmation from each department head
Why it's wrong here
Better but still not as effective as having business owners perform the review.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often choose an automated tool (Option B) as the 'best' technical solution, but the question emphasizes policy compliance and the need for business process owner involvement, not just technical detection.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
In ERP systems like SAP or Oracle, SoD conflicts are defined by critical combinations of roles or transaction codes (e.g., SAP's 'create purchase order' (ME21N) and 'approve purchase order' (ME28)). Business process owners understand the operational impact of these combinations, such as the risk of unauthorized procurement or payment fraud. An automated SoD tool (e.g., SAP GRC) can detect conflicts, but the policy mandates that business owners review and accept residual risks, making assignment to them the primary control.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Information System Auditing Process — This question tests Information System Auditing Process — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Assign the access review to business process owners from each department — The core issue is that the IT manager lacks the business process knowledge to assess whether role combinations create segregation of duties (SoD) conflicts. Company policy explicitly requires SoD reviews to be performed by business process owners. Assigning the access review to business process owners from each department (Option C) directly aligns with policy and ensures that those with functional knowledge evaluate whether role assignments violate SoD rules, such as a user having both 'create purchase order' and 'approve purchase order' roles.
What should I do if I get this CISA question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "best". Signals that multiple options may be partially correct. Choose the option that most directly solves the exact problem described, not the one that sounds most complete.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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